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Hi guys! So I was surfing the internet the other day and came across some hilarious, crazy but genius ads ever. It got me like, ‘daaamn, that’s just some mad men kinda thing!’. I had to go over and look at them all over again. Made my day a whole lot better. It’s just the kind of thing you need to share. I wasted ten minutes of my production time just looking at them. Trust me, it was so worth it. Have a look and share with a friend to waste his production time too.. ‘LOL….’

Don’t forget to share and tell me which are your personal favourites in the comments section.

— Digital Synopsis

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“The life of a designer is a life of fight. Fight against the ugliness.” – Massimo Vignelli. Although we’re all working towards the same objective, we designers have our distinct skill sets and preferences. There are designers who love flat design and there are designers who love skeuomorphism. Similarly, there are designers who like pastel shades and minimalism and there are those who like grunge and vibrance.

Due to the massive response we received from the post ‘HOW TO ANNOY A GRAPHIC DESIGNER’, we decided to bring you another compilation on types of graphic designers clients associate with.

Think Design has created a series of images that describe the different types of designers based on tastes, habits and attributes. To have a little fun of my own, am going to mention some designers I know and the category and i think the fall in. Myself, am a Minimalist Maverick. Don’t sue me guys! Here goes nothing!

Dennis Kumi Danso — The Ultra Detailed

David Arthur — The Pantone Guru

Joel Kiki Amedoe — The Colour Coder

Abigail Esi Nunoo — The Minimalist Maverick

Andrew Denkyira — The Icon Master

Ato DeGraft Johnson — Typography Smitten

Check them out below.

1. The Ultra Detailed

2. The Minimalist Maverick

3. The Retro Rebel

4. The Color Coder

5. The Typography Smitten

6. The Geometric Genius

7. The Hipster Hero

8. The Icon Master

9. The Gradient God

10. The Pantone Guru

So, which one are you? Share this post with a designer friend and voice your views in the comments below. Also give us the names of designers you know and what category you think they fall into.

—Digital Synopsis

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Are you a design client looking for ways to de-stress? Do you believe people perform best under pressure? Is your designer producing top quality work with too much ease? Here’s a handy infographic by UK printing company Print-Print that shows you how to play havoc with your designer’s mind and show him/her who’s boss.

Try these on your designer at your own peril!

Our personal favorites are 1, 2 and 10. Voice your views in the comments below and share this post with a designer friend who can relate.

Credit: Digital Synopsis

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The logos of brands like Apple and IBM are iconic now, but when most of these companies started out, their logos were awkward, clip-arty and looked like they had been designed by amateurs on a budget. With time, they shed their extra weight and evolved into aesthetically pleasant shapes thanks to legendary artists like Paul Rand who were masters of brand identity design.

With the rise in number of mobile/wearable devices and the Internet of Things, we can expect to see a major shift towards flat, minimal and responsive logo design.

Stock Logos has compiled an interesting list of first logos of popular brands like Apple, Canon, GE, IBM, Microsoft, McDonald’s and more. Most of the previous logos will make you ask “What were they thinking?” but some brands like Nissan had decent logos to begin with. Check them out below. You may have to wait for images to load if your connection is slow.

Apple

AT&T

British Airways

Canon

Discovery Channel

Eskimo

Firefox

General Electric

IBM

Kodak

Lay’s

Lego

Mazda

McDonald’s

Microsoft

Nintendo

Nissan

RCA

Shell

Xerox

Share this post and voice your views in the comments below.

Credit: Digital Synopsis

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He is David, Kofi by virtue of being born on the coast of Ghana, in Africa. He is God-fearing, selfless, humble, intelligent and hardworking. ‘I enjoy two things:a good meal and my work. I have a temperament that can contain anyone, but that is not my weakness. I’m very committed to my priorities and a very good company to my colleagues.’

David currently works at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. He studied Communication Design at the same institution. One of his favorite quotes is: do what you love and love what you do. His intense passion for photography is a testament to the earlier mentioned quote.

Visit his instagram page, @arthurstock and be inspired. Design is our lifestyle.

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Media firm, OneMedia (based in Ghana) uses typography to create interesting visuals with everyday words. The results are quite interesting. These are a few of the designs they call ‘Wordplay’ & Caligrams.

I know my top three (Families, Pinocchio and flood). What about you? Share with your colleagues for their favorite picks too!

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Hello there! My name is Abigail Esi Nunoo and I’m 21 years of age. I’m currently a graduate of KNUST with a Bachelor degree in Communication Design (Graphic design). I have been modelling for three years, specifically fashion and editorial. I have great interest in commercial/print, beauty, hair, fitness and runway shows as well (though I do not have much experience in run way shows). I love art, food and fitness! My aspiration is to be a competent graphic designer, an international freelance model and a brand ambassador for any company in the production of hair products specifically for natural hair especially in Ghana. My hair is natural but can be manipulated to suit various themes without altering its natural state due to its soft and curly nature. My measurements are as follows: height – 5’6”, bust – 34, waist – 24, hips – 38 and shoe size – 39/40.

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Sometimes in our lives we get on rides knowing we could get hurt. The risk and fun mixed in the right doses going round and round in our heads. I got off the bus at my stop. The wind blew dust in my face as I walked towards the tiny gate of one of the university’s many entrances. The sun was really out and scorching. Who had said wearing perfectly good clothes and walking under the sun was ridiculous? Marcus had. I kind of wanted to side with him now. Taking out a face towel from my hand bag, I wiped the dust off my face taking care not to smudge my lipstick or go over my eyebrows. I was halfway through the gate when I heard loud music which seemed to be coming from a few meters from where I was. It was a little surprising because the noise from the vehicles that used this route usually overshadowed any sound coming from the university campus. I pondered over it for a little while before I remembered it was hall week celebration season. One of the halls must be having theirs, I thought to myself.

I hoped Marcus’ balcony would face the direction of the music and tents that were up showcasing a variety of items from beads to handmade slippers. He had been a tad surprised when I called him up that morning to tell him I would be visiting. There was a hint of happiness in his voice and I suspected he had smiled before picking up the phone. I was happy I was going to see him. It had been almost seven years since we last met though we occasionally spoke on the phone especially on our birthdays. It was surprising how we could still connect after our history. I smiled to myself.

I walked past a group of students who were huddled closely apparently looking at something on an iPod. Most of the girls I came across were spotting tiny shorts. I found myself looking and mentally trying to judge whose fit better or who had the better pair of legs. This was a common fad in most of the universities in the country. Even in my hostel back in my own school almost every girl had at least a pair of those shorts. The guys had even given a name to it; Evandi shorts. Evandi is the name of my hostel by the way. I had a couple of pairs myself.

But I disliked one thing about Evandi shorts. Everybody wore them. From slim girls with very slender legs and those with a nice behind who wanted to flaunt them to the girls with stretch marks on very dark skin. Anytime my roomie saw the stretch marks kind she would pass a funny comment. One of my personal favorites is when she smiles at them and says ‘nice tattoos’ under her breath. That joke always cracked me up. Why couldn’t people understand some things were just not meant for them?

So far the ladies I had come across in Legon looked gorgeous in them. Hall week season indeed. I was also making mental notes of which kinds of the shorts I needed to add to my collection and which needed to take a trip the trash can. There was one thing I loved about this campus amongst other things. Your guess is as good as mine. The guys! They were absolutely hot and fantastic. Which one I would love to date, mmm, it would be a very close call. This triggered something in my memory. Steve Harvey once said the only way a woman could be truly be completely satisfied was to get four different kinds of men for herself. An old guy, an ugly one, a Mandingo kind of guy and a gay one. According to him the four of them combined will get us covered.

The old guy would sit around the house with us, spend his pension check, hug and comfort us and wouldn’t demand sex from us because he would have trouble giving it us anyway. From this guy, a woman got financial security. With the ugly one, he wouldn’t mind going through hell to help us out. He would be more than glad to run errands for us, wash our cars, help out with our assignments, anything at all we required. This kind of guy would be willing to be providing these because he’s just happy someone as beautiful as us would be paying him that much attention. From him we get ‘me time’. With all the work he did for us we had all the time in the world to ourselves.

And then there’s the Mandingo guy. I think we already know what we get from this man. He’s six foot, averagely smart, can barely hold a good conversation and has muscles popping out of all the way from his eyebrows to his pinkie toe and we know he’s going to put our back out. That’s what we want from him and he makes sure he gives it to us real good. Mind-blowing sex. And the last kind of guy we need, the gay guy. This guy would go shopping with us and wouldn’t want anything from us but hot gossip and details about what the old guy bought you at the Chanel shop, which errands we sent the ugly guy to take care of and exactly how the Mandingo had you doing monkey flips for a week. The gay guy would give us all the conversation we needed and make us smile.

I had dated a Mandingo before, an averagely good looking guy too (I wouldn’t classify them as ugly), but not an old one or a gay one. Although now that I think of it, one of the guys I had previously dated showed some gay attributes. I could see how Steve may have a point.

A loud cheer came from my left and I turned to look. There was a car wash going on a basketball court. Really cute ladies were dancing to hip songs while washing cars. One lady had on a wet white crop top which hugged her beloved juiced up oranges. And she was sporting Evandy shorts just like the rest of her charade. The guys had on brightly colored flowery beach shorts showcasing their muscles and six pack chests. The scene was amazing. There was no way my university campus cold top that, unless of course it was during republic hall week celebration. But then my hostel was about launching it’s week celebration and for the first time, it featured a car wash. Who knows if Evandy could live up to the hype.

My thoughts were interrupted as a group of kids came running towards my direction. I looked behind me to see if I was their target. Oh dear me, I didn’t have smaller notes on me. My last change had been spent on my bus fare. One of them bumped into me and I almost dropped my bag trying to prevent her from falling. Half of them were holding gospel tracts while the others each held a card of some sort. I took one of the tracts and tried moving away from them.

The little girl I had helped up took hold my hand and politely asked me help her out with the card. She smiled sweetly up at me making me feel a little uncomfortable. I took the card and read the information printed on it. It was to raise funds to help the bearer go for a camping trip at the Boti falls. I had been there when I was about eight years old and I still remember all the fun I had. I told her to tag along till I could get some change. Her whole group followed me to the nearest vendor. I felt ridiculous having this tiny group trailing behind me. It felt as though I was a museum guide or something. I bought a can of coca cola and split a ten Ghana cedi note amongst them. Everyone could go camping now. They ran off full of giggles and I felt myself smile as I dropped the can into my bag.

I looked around me. I was getting nearer to Marcus’ block and could feel my heartbeat beat faster. I hadn’t seen him in a while and if my memory served me right my heart would melt at the sight of him. It’s been a couple of years perhaps he had grown fat or developed a lot of pimpled face. There was a part of me that wished that wasn’t true so I could jump his bones and the other part wished it was exactly so to prevent anything inappropriate from happening between us. I was crushing on someone else for God’s sake. The risky aspect of the ride was telling me I was single and didn’t have to answer to anyone while the mellow fun part was asking me what Anima would do. Anima liked to have risky fun was the only answer I could come up with so maybe I should listen both voices.

The entrance to Marcus’ building came into as I rounded a curve. I called him on my cell phone to let him know I was in front of the building. He told me to wait for him at the porter’s lodge and he would come and get me. I made my way inside and passed two guys in the doorway who smiled at me. I looked around to see if there was a place I could sit as I waited. There were a few plastic chairs on the right side the porter’s lodge. I took a seat and decided to check my messages to while away time and partly to prevent looking uncomfortable. I was about replying a text from my kid brother when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I lifted my head to find a masculine face looking at me and smiling. I had a feeling I knew this guy. I hesitated a few seconds before standing up I said in excitement and hugging him, ‘Ebo, is that really you?’

“Yeah. It’s me alright. You haven’t changed much”, he said with a smile showing off his dimples.

He looked me over and added, “Yep, still as cute as ever. Just more mature looking and in tiny shoes”.

I laughed and remarked that his sense of humor was also still intact. He asked if I was there for their hall week celebration and I told it was just a happy coincidence and that I was only there to see some friends.

“Well, how about we exchange contacts and you can call me if you decide to stay for the evening?”

‘That sounds great’, I answered.

He couldn’t get over the fact that I was looking stunning and wouldn’t stop mentioning it. He took my left palm into his right one and spun me around to get a full 360 kind of look. I was grinning at this gesture when out of the corner of my eye I saw a human version of Barbie’s boyfriend descending the nearest stairs. From the looks of him I guessed he would be an athlete and with a stunning height of about six two, a basketball player most definitely. His muscles were popping out of his polo shirt and I couldn’t help but imagine a tight ass in his blue jeans and the long legs that went with it. I glanced up at his face to see a well groomed Trey Songz face with a Jason Derulo beard and twinkling eyes of Morris Chestnut. But the strides were with an African kind of swag, probably Chris Attoh. I wondered how such a look existed in this country. I marveled at how in the seconds that Ebo spun me around I could capture all that.

“Oh, and one more thing. Your legs. My, they look great ad not the bird ones I remember you having” he burst into laughter at his own joke. I tried to join in the laughter but basketball player was closing in on us. Instead all I could manage was a nervous chuckle.

Ebo then mentioned a friend was waiting for him at the main entrance of the school and had to rush to pick him up. We hugged our byes and I walked steadily to my seat. Someone seemed to calling out my name but I thought it was all in my head. Finally it sounded too close to be in my subconscious. I whirled to find Marcus a few feet away from me smiling at me. OMG! Am sure my expression would’ve looked like that of Kevin Hart when he heard a bad joke. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. Marcus was Barbie boy. I could feel my stomach doing flip flops.

Shaking myself back to earth, I slid my purse over my shoulder and walked towards him. For the second time that day I was getting hugged by a good looking guy. I was loving the campus more and more with every passing second. Our hug was a bit awkward as we were complete opposites in heights. I was petite and he was well, you know. He was saying something about it being a pleasant surprise coming to pay him a visit and some whole other stuff but I could hardly pay attention. He had definitely not grown fat over the years. I couldn’t tell if that was good thing at that particular moment.

The next thing I knew I was climbing up the stairs with him showing the way. We stopped on the second floor and he took a turn to his right. We walked down the hallway for a couple of feet with me trailing a little behind so I could get all the view I wanted before I lost the opportunity. I bumped into him suddenly and I realized he had stopped. I looked up sheepishly at him. He smiled and turned the key he had inserted in the lock.

‘After you miss’, he said.

I giggled and stepped inside. The room had a welcoming atmosphere. There were two beds in the room, both laid but one looked made with extra attention. It has wine colored sheets and matching pillowcases with a pink and white flowery blanket. A laptop was turned on by this bed but that wasn’t how I knew that was his bed. He had always been that kind of guy. I used hear it a lot from the boys in my class when we were in boarding school in junior secondary school. The walls were a slight darker shade of red with zebra patterned curtains. The wardrobes were opposite the direction of the beds and a flat screen television in the corner by the wardrobe. The rug matched the color of the wall. A low walled partition separated the kitchen from the main room with the washroom facing the kitchen which led to the balcony. The air condition was mounted from that direction. It was impressive.

‘I must agree with friend from downstairs, your legs are amazing. Mmm Anima, very slender’, he paused as I turned to face him. ‘But what he missed were your thighs and the cushions.’

Ah, so he had also been checking me out. Great. Sneaky a bit but felt great. I had feeling he wasn’t done so I held my tongue while holding his gaze.

‘That skirt is working well. It’s showing just a bit of flesh while leaving some to the imagination.’

I was wearing a purple flair skirt with black patterns with the length a slight way up my knee showing off a small portion of my fair thighs. A cream silky blouse with a black color was tucked into the skirt and topped with a cream flat pair of Steve Madden shoes. Looking down at the shoes I fixed one of my winning smiles on my lips and slowly lifted my head back to the face staring appreciatively at me. He nodded towards me and I interpreted as for me to get myself comfortable. I walked towards the bed and sat down stroking the soft blanket. I didn’t want to give the impression I was nervous. I slid the purse onto the floor as Marcus drew a chair beside the bed and sat facing me. It was close. Taking in deep breaths I started reciting my mantra in head to calm myself down.

He inquired about my journey to his room, what I would like to drink and all the pleasantries that went with losing touch with a dear one. He brought me a sachet of water on a tray with a mug, poured he water halfway into the mug ad handed it over graciously. Year of the gentleman indeed. I gulped down some and placed the tray on the table by the laptop. We talked about funny incidents that occurred during our junior high days and I was glad we were at that point where we could laugh at the then awkward moments.

His eyes scanned my face and darted to my eyebrows. He drew several inches closer and clapped my palms in his turning them over and over. Oh damn. This wasn’t good. Actually, it felt pretty good. Marcus should have grown fat. Or chemistry was still very much alive. I sucked my bottom lip in and withdrew my right palm. For a couple of minutes we just sat down looking into each other’s face. Come on, think fast! I rebuked myself. Say something smart else there’s going to be a kiss after five minutes of your entering the room. And you want to play things cool. I heard voices coming from down the hallway and hoped to God their destination was this chemistry filled room. My village gods may have heard my plight because a knock sounded on the door. He raised an eyebrow and asked to be excused. I nodded. Soon as his back was turned I swallowed the saliva that had fast gathered in my mouth and the knot that had been threatening to form in my throat. I needed to get real. I wanted him, he wanted me. There wasn’t any reason we couldn’t just have physical ‘contact’. We were both adults. When he gets back to me, am going to kiss him. I told myself.

The conversation outside seemed to be taking a while giving me ample time to rehearse my scenes in my head. From the sounds of the handshakes outside I knew I had a few moments left. Marcus shut the door and apologized as he walked towards me. By then, I wanted to appear relaxed so I lay on his bed minus my shoes. I tapped the pillow next to me and he dropped down beside me. Taking his hands and forming a weave with mine, I caressed the strands of hair on his wrist and whispered, ‘What was your most embarrassing moment with me way back?’ I think my question surprised him a little bit but so was i? I had had completely different question in mind. Am such a big ‘willow’ when it comes to expressing my feelings. You know, a willow, that thing that sometimes is used to call a cat? Or a lady part? Which is funny because am a female and I definitely have a ‘cat’.

‘Well, you remember the time I got hurt playing basketball and you rushed over with warm water and first aid to treat my leg?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, I do. What about it?’

‘When you applied pressure on the sore, it hurt really badly and I let you see that. But when the guys came around to check on me, I had to be macho so I pretended not to flinch when you treated it.’ He said smiling shyly.

I burst into laughter as I remembered that moment. ‘I knew you were faking it. But I wasn’t completely sure if it was really hurting or you just wanted me to pamper you, awww’. I told him giving him a puppy face. He tickled my sides and I grabbed my pillow and hit him with it. It soon turned into a pillow fight which ended up with him getting a bit sweaty despite the air condition. He took his shirt off and I had to swallow my saliva. I dropped onto the floor and started picking up the feathers to put back into the pillows. He picked up the pillows and poured the remaining feathers from them onto the floor. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to start a new game. Boy, was I right.

He knelt down close to me and drew a stray strand of hair from my face. Tilting my chin upwards and placing his left hand on my waist, he took my lower lip with his and gently parted the top and bottom lip with his tongue. He lingered a little and press my body close to his. By this time I wasn’t sure what was happening. All I knew was the seven minutes in heaven I had with in junior secondary school was about to become something more. Way more. I signed into his mouth and met his tongue with mine. He took it and worked all the magic imaginable with it. I ran my index finger on his back playing with the hair as I moved through it. Gently drawing my chest away from his I touched his chest and felt the hard masculine body of an athlete as his fingers went through my hair and in and out of my ears. God, my ears. Marcus broke away from the kiss and took my unbuttoned my shirt. With each button that got loose, I got dropped a kiss on the nose. Finally the shirt was open but he didn’t take it off me. At least not yet. But my vest got thrown away. Cupping me with his right palm he pushed me onto the feathers on the floor and came down on me kissing my neck. My neck and my ears. OH MY GOD! He remembers.

Drawing his face to mine, i noticed the glint of happiness in his eyes and the acknowledgment that I had realized he still knew where to go on my body. We kissed passionately and endlessly. I liked it when he his lips worked on my breasts and it wasn’t until a couple of minutes before I realized my bra had come off. I shifted his weight to his side and got rid of his belt and the zipper. Anticipating what I was about to touch, I cupped him first and when my eyes widened I felt a trickle of liquid drop from my region. I was almost ready. I slipped my hand into his boxers and heard him groan when the tip of my fingers touched the tip of him. I wrapped my fingers around him and did the salt taste testing trick moving my hand up and down. He was growing larger by the second and biting my neck when I touched a soft spot. Feeling he had to return the sweet torture, he slowly moved his hand down my thigh, parted my legs, didn’t even take the pantie off and slid one finger into me. Then two. I arched my back and moaned loudly. The feathers on floor were scattered all over us but they felt soft and added a touch to the mood.

Still, he didn’t think I had suffered enough and wouldn’t go for the kill. My skirt came off and so did his trousers. He laid on top of me and wound his waist on mine. I felt the pressure and pleasure of him on my crutch and wished he would take me. But, no the foreplay had to go on. Who had kissed me this way before? I tried to do a quick headcount. Stop! I rebuked myself. There is no room for that now, you’ve both waited and wondered about this moment forever and now wasn’t the time think about who could do this and who couldn’t. Truth be told I had had sex with a guy and it was so awful five minutes into it that somehow I was remembering some of the economics lessons I had taken in high school. He kissed well but the sex was umm, a total waste of twenty minutes. Girls could really fake it when it came to lots of things relating to this.

I got jolted back to reality as I felt a bid and handsomely long piece of Marcus on the flesh of my thigh. Could I really go through with this? The main thing that kept pulling me back to him was the fact that we had been good together even without the sex. What will happen after this? And what if the sex was just that ‘eh’ that came with a shrug? Why risk this amazing bond over meaningless sex. This isn’t meaningless sex, there’s an amount of emotions attached. A tiny voice in head argued. That voice was partially right. I would let Marcus ride me all night and it would feel just about right. So why was I having these thoughts? A knock came through again. My village gods must really be on my side today. We tried ignoring it for a moment before he remembered he had ordered us some lunch. He told me not to move from my spot.

He put his trousers on quickly and answered the door. He came to pick up his wallet and drew money from it. When he came back, he was holding two take outs which he set on the floor. He moved to the fridge and brought back a bottle of red wine with two glasses. He sat down and uncorked the wine. He poured a bit onto my belly button and sucked it up. I was torn between wondering if he was just being romantic or if he was performing the belly button test. Either way, I liked this game than the pillow fight game. He asked me to sit up and opened our food. Potato chips with cut up sausages. It was quite clever to choose finger foods. Although in his defense, he had made the order before the pillow fight had even started. He picked up a curly fry, dipped it in ketchup and fed it to me. I savored it and licked the ketchup on his fingers as well. Looking at his widening eyes I could only imagine him wondering if his fingers were something else.

The heat was being turned on more than a notch. He fed me a couple more fries. I poured a bit of wine on his abs and licked them dry with my tongue. I moved on top of him completely and landed a kiss on his neck, shoulder, forehead, two on his nose and finally got to the lips. His fingers kept working my body. I drew back a hundred and twenty seconds into the kiss and whispered his name.

Sitting up I said again, ‘Oh, Mark. There is a problem.’

‘Yes dear, I know’, he replied gently. ‘We are both not ready to completely surrender to the other.’

‘Mmm…We want each other but we are scared of it not working out. You feelings for me still run deep and I feel the same too.’

‘Risking it a second time will break me, Anima. I am who I am today because of us. I feel it’s the same for you.’

‘So we keep on with our ‘experiments’ on lab rats till we tire? Remember what it means to have two X chromosomes in our part of the world.’

‘We already understand each other. How about we let the lust out of our systems for a year. By then if we should know. No excuses this time on either part.’

‘Sounds like a plan to me. But first..’ doing hula-hoop waist techniques on him, I inched down slowly and finished off or kiss. One cousin told me she prided herself of always finishing off her guys. Never leave a guy with two toys to play with unless he deserves it, she said. Silly girl, always listening to advice from her western friends. I picked some up myself though. It was from them I learnt what ‘sixty-nine’ was at the age of eleven.

Marcus being the gentleman he was dressed me up before attempting to put his clothes on. My phone rang and I went to the balcony to receive it. I was there for about five minutes.

‘Was that him?’

‘Yes’, I answered knowing what he meant.

‘Let’s have a toast.’ He said, handing me a glass with half full wine.

‘A toast to what?’

‘A toast to the losers who lost us, the ones who is next in line and the lucky ones who will soon follow. But most of all, a toast to us.’

‘I’ll drink to that’. We clinked glasses and took sips eyeing each other through the corners of our eyes.

Loud bangs sounded from the door and we exchanged baffled looks. Whoever it was seemed to have an emergency or was high on marijuana. As soon as he unlocked the door, a young lady in her late teens rushed in and headed straight towards me. You would think from the sight of her estranged look and the obvious fact that a little gossiping bird had informed her Marcus had a girl over that I would take double steps back. She stopped a few centimeters from me and boldly asked me why I was up there in her boyfriend’s room making out with him. She looked so pissed she didn’t realize she was spraying saliva as she spoke.

I wiped the moisture off my face, took a long look at her and said, ‘Well, hello to you too.’

“Young lady!” she snapped, “I don’t know what hell hole you came from but over here we don’t go around kissing guys who are spoken for. You hear me?”

I glanced at Marcus who just shrugged. This girl was full of trash. ‘Obviously, you are in your freshman year. What did you really come here to do? Threaten me? What could you possibly have to say or do to me that hasn’t been done before?’

“So you admit you are a slut? You’ve neither shame nor class.”

‘Not in the least. Slut? No. You’re delusional if you think by coming up here shabbily dressed smelling of the cheap perfume you probably borrowed from your roommate shows some class.’ I cocked my head at an angle and crossed my arms before continuing. ‘You could’ve showered, threw on prettiest dress and some make up and come knocking gently. This is his room, he would definitely answer the door. Then you could surprise him with a kiss. But no, you had to rush over to catch him in an act he hasn’t thought of. And judging from how relaxed he looks right now, you’re probably a one night stand he doesn’t care for. Do yourself a favor and walk out before he says what I think he’s going to say to you.’

Despite being stunned she struggled to hold her composure. “We’ve been together three times, not a one night stand” she retorted.

‘Same thing.’

“So what? You think he likes you better than me and would date someone like you? You’re crazy.”

‘Maybe you’ve not noticed he hasn’t said anything in your defense or offered any apology for my presence here.’ To add a dramatic effect and emphasize my point I glided towards Marcus who was leaning against the door and cupped him. ‘See, he doesn’t care.’

“Marcus? You are going let to her treat me this way?”

Speaking for the first time he said, ‘You and I had a few fun times together. I never asked you to be my girlfriend or say I love you. Come on, don’t do this.’

“I thought you were a gentleman.”

‘I am a gentleman. A gentleman who made it clear that was nothing to what happened between us and you said you understood.’

“Fine. We’re done! And as for you, young lady, you can go to hell!”

Seriously, she hadn’t had enough of me? ‘Been there, done that!’ And by the way, I continued as was halfway through the door, ‘You can’t be done with something that never started!’ She was already out the door when I finished but I am pretty sure she heard me.

I turned to Marcus. ‘Really? A freshman?”

“Why not? They’re just so, you know…?

‘Fresh.’ I finished for him.

“Yeah, exactly.”

‘I’ve to be on my way anyway. Am babysitting my cousin’s son. Am late as it is.’

“Walk with me through campus. If you were that late, am sure she would have called. Or you want to get away from me because of Dzifa?

‘Who’s Dzifa?’ I inquired.

“The girl you just humiliated in my room.”

‘Ah, the freshman. We just made a deal. It doesn’t bother me at all. Your first Volta?’

“Yep”

‘Ok. Now, let’s go downstairs and let me see how I can spend your money for the afternoon.’

“Whatever you want Anima.”

We walked back downstairs amidst casual conversation and laughter here and there. I noticed how most of the locals cast their glance our way. Half an hour into getting those glances I had to ask him if he knew why we were being looked at. He replied in the affirmative and explained that he had never been seen walking around with a lady. It was against one of his ‘rules’. Even those who visited him in his room had to return on their own. He would go as far as his door and if you were closer to him he would see to the porter’s lodge of his hostel. If you ask me it was a funny and weird thing to do. I felt a vibration in my handbag and reached for my phone. Seeing the number, I excused myself and stood a few feet away from him to answer the call. A few minutes after I hang with beaming with smiles.

‘You know the rules right?’ Marcus asked.

‘What are you talking about?’ I asked back.

‘You know fully well what I mean. You can’t get attached to this guy. Whoever he is. I don’t know his name but I know he exists.’

‘He’s really sweet and the bad boy kind. But there’s something different about him that I find myself back in his arms often.’

‘Oh My God! You’ve got to be kidding me. You actually like this guy. What were you thinking making a deal with me?’

‘Dude relax. He and I have chemistry. That doesn’t mean it’s beyond the physical. He’s not even the type I usually go in for so am certain am going to get bored soon and end it.’

‘Good. I can breathe better now.’

‘What were you also thinking? An emotional me all over a guy? Been there, done that. It’s you and I now Marcus.’

I said, taking his hand and lacing my fingers through his. I could feel the tension ease from within hm. Truth is, I was beginning to feel something for this said guy which I didn’t fully comprehend myself. Some part of me wanted to wait it out and see how things developed between us while the other wanted to have all the fun and run before emotions got in the way. Somehow he had managed to get under the skin of Marcus. Was Marcus himself getting emotional like perhaps I was and didn’t want to admit it? I blessed my stars I was good at waiting things out. One day at a time.

We were approaching the tiny alternate entrance to the school. I told him where I was headed so he could stop a taxi going that direction. I saw someone wave in our direction. One of my course mates from school. She walked over and I introduced her to Marcus. She asked if I had come because of the hall week and I told her I was there to visit a few friends, Marcus inclusive. Like always she asked if I had had fun. I confirmed I did to prevent further questions and told her her friends were waiting for her. By then Marcus had also chartered a taxi for and so I went to him and hugged him goodbye until next time.

I heard Marcus whisper something in my ears as we broke away from our embrace but it wasn’t until I sat down in the car that I finally made out what he had said.

‘You mean much more to me than I let on. Don’t get too attached to him.’

I turned in my seat to find that he was already halfway through the gate. Dam his long legs and strides. I signed to myself. Until we meet again Marcus.

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The following story is fictional and does not depict any actual event or person. Any resemblance to a person(s) (dead or alive) or event is coincidental.

THE KOBBY CHAPTER

The constant buzzing of her message tone woke her up rather early in the morning. Her eyelids were still heavy with sleep. She had hardly slept. She had stayed up during the night trying to convince herself the next day would be the end of the world or the beginning of world war three. But even someone who possessed such an angelic beauty as she did wasn’t that lucky. As it turned out, it was going to be Kobby War 1. She turned her head and the morning rays of sunlight streaking through the French windows almost blinded her. Damn it. Margaret had parted the curtains. Lazily rubbing her eyes, she picked up her phone to read the messages. Most of them were from Kobby wishing her a lovely morning and wondering if he could pick up a cup of coffee with some toasts as breakfast for her. She groaned loudly and covered herself with her blanket. Jeez, she thought, just one breakfast I asked him to pick up for me one time and he already wants to use that as an opportunity. The groaning didn’t stop until her roommate, obviously fed up asked, “What’s with the froggy noise?” ‘Am drowning’. She looked at the confused expression on Margaret’s face and almost laughed but another text came through and the curve on her lips turned into a straight line. What a day this was going to be.

Heart racing, her eyes looking everywhere but nowhere. Pupils appear dilated, knees weak and wobbling and trying to make sense of what she feels or is it how she feels. She looks across her desk at work and all she sees is her fears staring back her with dazzling eyes, sparkling white teeth and a smile that says everything in the heart. How does a person fear that in another? She turns her head the other direction and finds another just like him. It’s almost like a crossroads with no stop sign or green light. The only way forward being a road she had trodden far too many times. Heartbreak, the only solution to an ironic happiness.

The good things she sees in him, how he worships her and makes her the center of his world only drives her further away. Waking up every morning to be met with this at the office was gradually becoming a headache. What to tell him wasn’t an issue but how to go about it without hurting his feelings was going to be hard. Either way, one of us was hurting and one of us had to speak up. She hated that flaw in her; her inability to consciously hurt another and to say no. It was getting her in trouble now.

“Anima”. A deep but slightly throaty voice seemed to be mentioning her name. She heard it again. This time louder and with much more energy and force. She snapped out of her reverie and raised her head to find Kobby smiling down at her. Her miserable attempt to smile back at him brought a slight frown to his face which he quickly hid.

“Do you want to grab some lunch?” he asked.

Wasn’t breakfast enough? With a slight hesitation and a shrug, she said. “Yes, I don’t see why not” almost in a sing song voice.

“Is everything ok?”

‘Yeah. Shall we go?’ She answered quickly not wanting the conversation to steer in a direction she knew would end up with her getting pissed with his smothering.

They found themselves sitting at a cafeteria a few blocks away from the office. She ordered the tiniest bit of finger food available and a glass of juice. Noticing the questioning look on his face as to why her usual plate wasn’t ordered, she shrugged and gave a casual “Am not hungry” answer and smiled at him. Much more convincingly this time. Nodding his head, he began his usual talk about what lies ahead of man and how lost he was without love. She had heard this over and over again the word love couldn’t even qualify for a cliché anymore. This was worse than any form of emotional child abuse she could think of. Getting lost in the conversation, her mind started to take in their surroundings. A lot of the workers in the company in which they worked also dined at the cafeteria too. People liked to come in pairs or in a group. Her eyes darted to the closest window to her. Sitting on a bench at the nearest bus stop was a couple who seemed to be trying as much as they could to keep their tongues from sliding down in each other’s throats. She shook her head in amusement. God knows she had had a fair share of that experience. Two years into a relationship with Nathaniel and the sizzling fire between them was as hot as the first time she tongued him. A bevy of ladies were also having what seemed like a girl chat at the opposite area. They sat in a semi-circle and after a few seconds of observing them she realized the lady in the middle was eyeing a guy who was chatting with a friend of his a few feet away from the group. The guy had also noticed the lady. She was nicely dressed. Sleek silky long sleeved well pressed white shirt tucked into a black high waist skirt topped up with a heel of not less than four inches .The skirt was not too long to suggest the usual religious type and not too short to be considered slutty. The guy was in neat polo shirt with denim shorts and a black converse. Nice. But from what she knew, the guy would have difficulty approaching the lady. Don’t people ever learn? She asked herself. Miss sleek would have to move to the outer part of the circle for the guy to easily approach or the guy should get some guts and call the nearest lady. What fun it is to watch people sweat when you know you can make it easier for them.

Something else quickly drew her attention. Some school kids were trying to cross the road amidst vibrant chit chat and laughter. That wasn’t what caught her eye. There she was. Trailing behind the kids was a pretty girl immaculately dressed for a kid closed from school on a Friday bearing a smile that didn’t quite reach her heart. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. That was when it dawned on her how unhappy she had been for some time despite all her efforts to live a carefree life and bury her tainted past. Living for the moment was so much fun and much less regretful. Still she was unhappy within. The sounds of the whispers of the trees and the roaring of moving vehicles sounded faintly in her ears, even her own heartbeat sounded and felt miles away. This was not a day to be unhappy. She was going to make the most out of it even if for the most part, it wouldn’t be with the right people. Enough was enough.

Shaking these thoughts away, she turned towards Kobby and realized he had been staring at her apparently waiting for an answer to a question she hadn’t heard. Not that she wanted to hear it anyway. Kobby was halfway through his meal and she had barely touched hers.

“Come again please?” she politely asked. She smiled at him. One which she had perfected a while back to ease uncomfortable situations.

Leaning forward, he clasped their hands together and looked into her eyes. “Please God, not this again”, she prayed silently. She clenched her jaws and looked right back at him. He was trying to put on a puppy face expression. It won’t work. Never does anyway.

“How long would you have me worship and wait for you?” he asked.

‘I never asked you to wait for me. Not once have I asked that of anyone’ she coolly replied.

“Fine. I understand what you’ve been through. Yes, all men may be dogs but I want to be your dog. Just yours.”

Retrieving her hands from his and not sure what reply to give this time, she quietly nursed her juice and poked at the now soggy potato chips in front of her, trying desperately not to meet his inquiring gaze. For one thing, he didn’t know nearly a quarter of the things she had gone through. No one did. The person who inflicted the pain himself didn’t know how unbearable the pain had been and didn’t even remember half of the things he did to her. And for another, she definitely couldn’t handle a possessive guy such as him. A full day spent with him would be enough to make her run the more.

“Say something please?” he begged.

‘Kobby?’

“He just stepped out”. Someone seemed to answer.

I felt a gentle squeeze on my shoulder and looked up to find Thomas grinning down at me with those lovely dimples of his showing. Thank God. All this had been nothing but a daydream. Whew! I could feel the tension in my muscles easing and my butt unclenching. Don’t get me wrong. Kobby is a nice guy. But that was it. He is just nice. I was in a position where I could snap my fingers and have any nice guy I wanted but that wasn’t enough. Neither was a bad boy. God, I love those. Right now I wanted a guy who challenged me. Who could dare me attain greater heights and who was more ambitious than I was. A guy who didn’t make everything so easy for me, that way the spark wouldn’t be lost so soon and I wouldn’t lose interest quickly. Maybe one day Kobby would find a nice girl and they would perfectly happy making nice babies together. Speaking of nice, I had to agree to him taking me out on my last day at the office. I was going back to school the following week. Luckily, another co-worker was going to be there so the risk of him saying anything about how he felt was minimal. Better yet, an uncomfortable situation of me rejecting him would be avoided. Win win.

Office relationships had never been a thing on my list. Uh huh, I have a ‘to do list’. If I was going to do something sexual at the place where I worked, I had always imagined it would be like my boyfriend coming to surprise me at work and we sneak into an empty office or a washroom and have a quickie because you know, I didn’t have walls (office of my own…yet). My hair would be disheveled, my lipstick smudged and I would be trying to pull down my skirt as I tried to walk perfectly straight back to my desk and smiling like I just scored a goal against Germany. It’s a wild fantasy which I couldn’t imagine doing with Kobby no matter how hard I tried. I figured he would be the kind of guy that went on a date with his girlfriend planned three days ago, went home afterwards and wouldn’t touch her because he wasn’t sure if that would upset her. Girls like me, we wanted a guy who could take charge. I would be at home and he would call me up and say there was a club opening downtown and a couple of friends said it was going to be hot so how about it. That’s the unpredictable fun things that keeps us psyched. You never know where he is going to take you next or when he is going to do that or what you might even do afterwards. I was pretty sure I was going get dropped off at my apartment after we had had a couple of drinks. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I woke up Friday morning with mixed feelings. I was happy to be going back to school, I missed my room and my peers and most of all I missed feeling irresponsible a bit. Working in the corporate a second time had been an eye opener. I felt more matured, I could take appreciation and criticism of all my works with professionalism. The people at the office had become like family especially Thomas and I loved them. I guess they adored me as well but you never know. My boss had become an idol to me. She was a woman, married and with kids but could handle pressure and herself so expertly that I would have been in love with her if was gay or a guy. I was going to be like her. Grow up and get married with a career of my own and still respect men and my husband. Don’t worry mom, you are still the number woman I look up to everyday. These were my happy feelings. Though I didn’t like Kobby the way he wanted me to, I was surely going to miss being around him if I had to be completely honest with myself.

He could text me like fifty times in the eight to nine hours I spent at the office asking how I was doing or if I was ok. On some mornings, he would bring me little things that showed he cared like chocolates, candy or ‘chocomilo’. It was sweet and comforting at first but then I felt smothered after a week or two of it. It got a little annoying when I had to always empty my message app, WhatsApp and hangouts app to save some memory. And sometimes we would go to lunch together. It was kind of funny when he would just go with me to the cafeteria but wouldn’t order anything and just sit there watching me eat. He was fun in his own small way.

“Would you stop smiling and get ready for work? I doubt you want to end on a bad note.” Margaret said.

“Yes, of course.”

I brushed through my clothes to pick a dress that said I work in the corporate but it’s a Friday and a girl has to have fun. But I wasn’t too sure about my heels. I narrowed it down to two. One was a black six inch peep toe pumps and the other was a two inch sandal heel. I held them up for Margaret to help me choose.

“What, are you going hiking after you close? The pump is the better one. It says, former bad girl is back”, she said with a slight chuckle.

“It’s just that anytime I dress up fancy they get curious where I am going and which guy or guys am going with”, I told her.

I jumped into the shower and took a quick bath while Margaret ironed my dress for me. I got dressed and did a different hairstyle and began applying make-up. In the middle of applying my favorite red Mary Kay lipstick I realized I might be sending off the wrong signals to Kobby. Getting all dressed up might be a tad too much. He might think I got all dressed up because we were going out for drinks. I wiped off the lipstick and doused a little of the eye shadow off my eye. Looking in the mirror and satisfied with artwork, I kicked on the bad girls, my pumps. I smiled as I saw my slim figure in the dressing mirror and how my ass and feet looked.

“Not bad for a geek like you”, I heard my roommate say. I hated that word. Well, only when it was used on me.

‘I’m not a geek. Am just a girl with a very high GPA who knows how to party when the time right’, I retorted ‘And get off my back’.

I got to work that morning feeling all good and happy. Work was going on smoothly and I had received a message from my secret crush wishing me a wonderful last day at work. He had even sent me smileys blowing kisses. Not one. Not two. Three! Three of them. My, I felt like a teenager in high school. Thomas changed his sitting position so we could have one last long chat before I left.

Later that afternoon, my boss asked me and Kobby to pick up some finger foods for the send-off party they were organizing for me. It was nothing big but I appreciated it. We walked a couple of blocks in silence at first, and then he started suddenly chattering away about sports in an attempt to break the silence I suppose. I am into sports too but I wasn’t listening. I was just nodding along and laughed too when he laughed. I wanted to pay attention, honest, but we had already had this conversation several times already. Who was going to win the NBA conference finals and then the finals? He didn’t even support any team but loved talking about it because he knew I was into it. A huge Miami heat fan, that’s me. Dwaaaaaayne Wade!! I loved it anytime he made a basket or a terrific assist and the commentator stretched his name.

When we finally arrived at the shop, we met other workers there. Most people at the company ordered food from this vendor. We sat outside to wait while the place emptied a bit. We talked about funny occurrences at the office and things I would miss about the place while I was in school. It was a really good place to work. The atmosphere was great, every worker associated with almost everyone and even senior members shared jokes and laughed with people at the bottom chain. Whenever you got to work it was as if you had touched down in a different country and you were now with your adopted family. Unless of course, there was work already waiting for you at your desk and it was one of those days where a lot of work had to be done.

It was our turn soon and we claimed the food while Kobby paid for them. Our walk back was a better one. It’s always a wonder to me how food seems to bring a better mood in people. What was it? The aroma or the thought of munching on something tasty? Whatever it is, we talked and he cracked a knock knock joke which I thought was really funny.

We took the stuff into my boss’s office and placed them on a desk. She called the designers to come around for a couple of minutes. She prayed and offered me sound advice in my academic life and design tips. The rest of the designers did same. Other people who trooped in and out of the design unit said a quick goodbye and a word of appreciation of the job I had done. It felt really good. We went back to work but the atmosphere had changed to a jolly one, even more than usual. Someone dropped into an empty seat on my left. It was Zeke. He was a cool guy and kind of cute too. He had asked me a couple of times earlier in the year but I was already into someone. It was now tiring turning down guys all the time. All the same, Zeke and I had become fast friends. We talked a lot after work via WhatsApp and he had made a hobby of teasing me anytime Manchester United lost a match. We were having a terrible season which meant almost every time we had a football match, Zeke would be ready to send teasing messages in a couple of minutes. To his credit, the messages were funny and on point.

“You know I will miss you when you are gone right?” he asked.

‘Yeah, I know. How can you not. Am totally adorable, aren’t I?’ I joked.

“No you’re not. Don’t flatter yourself”

‘Whatever the case you will miss me’, I said laughing.

He stood up, kissed my cheek and walked away with his characteristic head bobbing kind of walk. I smiled as I watched him go. I realized I had connected with a lot of the workers in a positive way. I looked at the clock. It was half an hour past six. Fiifi was going to drive me home today so I had no intention of leaving early. My boss and Thomas were still around and I wanted to spend more time with them. There was not much work to do so I just sat by Thomas and we watched some videos on the internet. I noticed Kobby kept glancing over his shoulder to look at us. I wasn’t sure if he was thinking I was going to sneak out and ditch our hangout or that I liked Thomas better than I did him. I do like Thomas better. I have known him longer and he always has my back. I got his too.

I was enjoying myself so much I didn’t know how fast the clock was ticking. The day had gone well. Everyone had commented on my dressing and at appoint, I was almost shy to get out of my seat. They hadn’t seen me so dressed up before so I understood. What was killing them even more was the heels. They were Jimmy Choos and the latest design. What is more, my sense of style was something I got commended on often at the office mostly by the guys and well, men. When I say men, I mean men who are nearing retirement.

Fiifi and Kobby were ready to leave at nine. By then Thomas had left and the office had almost emptied. I slung my purse over my shoulder and we headed out the door. I bumped into Ken, the guy who never passed by me without giving me a peck on the cheek or on my wrist in the “my lady” manner. He hugged me, took my cell phone number and kissed me twice on the cheek. He was preparing for a third but I innocently ducked and pretended to prevent my phone from dropping to the floor. Whether he saw through it wasn’t a problem. I waved him goodbye as we walked to the car park.

When I saw Fiifi’s car my eyes bulged. The car he drove was sweet! For his own safety am not going to mention the type of car. But if it was a school and we were grading, his ride would definitely be in the Ivy League. Let’s just say he hits a ‘B’ when accessing his car boot.

Kobby opened the door to the front seat for me and dropped into the seat like the cushion was made of eggshells. Fiifi wasn’t a guy who tried to impress people but just then he spun the car in a fast reverse 180 and stepped on the gas. Maybe I thought wrong. He looked at me and asked where I wanted us to go for the night.

I wasn’t about to tell him. Am going to play the perfect lady and tell him the kind of atmosphere I enjoyed on a night out. Duh! This kind of thing always made a guy think and challenged him indirectly. I like places that were not so open, dark but with dim lights (In case anyone wanted to feel me up, I would know who. This is between you and I, soft music playing which picked up tempo as the night wore on making it perfect for dancing. A place where if I wanted something light to eat, it wouldn’t be a problem.

I told the guys just about that and waited to see where the car would park next. I was singing along to the music playing on the car stereo and ignoring the surprised looks on their faces. I get it. I am a cool kid when we are the office. I have to be. I was there to learn and to do that I had to be cool, which came natural. When it’s time for fun, it’s actually fun time! I don’t have to be cool when I am having fun. I know you are on my side on this one, right? A hip hop song came on and I was still moving to it. They liked it and fist bumped me.

The car pulled into a parking spot. I looked around and we were at a four star hotel. Uh-oh. My defenses out of nowhere went up. I had this thing where if a guy took me to a hotel to chill it meant he had a ‘plan’ I wasn’t in on. Once bitten twice shy. I nervously bit my lower lip. I put off my mobile data to save some battery so I could make a quick call were anything to happen. I knew these guys but let’s face facts, alcohol can drive the strongest willed nuts. Opening the door for myself, I dropped my purse on the seat, stood straight on the curb and took in a deep relaxing breath. Kobby came up behind me while Fiifi double checked the locks on his car. I looked down the street. The night sky looked beautiful with several stars in sight and the breeze was very cool. The soft music coming from the direction of the hotel’s bar added a good touch to the atmosphere. The trees on the street looked well planned and colorful flowers radiated from the street light. It was almost as if we had our own London Boulevard. Well, we were in Osu after all. Oxford Street rings a bell?

Fiifi joined us and we walked at a leisure pace towards the entrance.

“We are here to chill and I say we hit the bar and drinks straight away”, Fiifi said looking all too happy for my liking. He had looked at me oddly when he said bar.

“Agreed?” Kobby asked me.

“Why are you guys acting like am a buzz kill here? If anyone is it’s him”, I teased pointing at Kobby.

He held the door open as Fiifi and I passed through. We chose seats at the darker end of the area. They had picked a good place but I had a tiny problem. When I go out drinking with pals I prefer closed spaces where it got hotter as the dancing got hotter. This was way too open. Plus the main bar was too far from the seating arrangement. I didn’t hesitate to point that out when the waitress came for my order. The guys ordered local alcoholic drinks and asked if I wanted the same.

“I’ve never drank a local one” I told them.

They looked at me like I had said I’ve never eaten fufu or something. I don’t really get why people seem to get that way when I tell them that. It’s no big deal. Some people are vegetarians or vegans and I drink foreign alcohol of good branding.

‘How come?’ Kobby inquired.

I shrugged it off and ordered a bottle of Baileys. I was expecting a medium sized bottle but the guys quickly chipped in “She wants the big bottle”. We laughed and the waitress left with our order. Fiifi stood up to get us some meat to go with the drinks while Kobby and I had a chat about top brands in the world of alcohol. I can’t really recollect the details but I think he was leaning toward Hennessy and Johnny Walker. I argued that was the case in Ghana and probably Africa and I could bet that there were other brands making hotter waves than that, arguable of course.

We lapsed into silence after that and after a few seconds he also stood up to check on Fiifi. Few people were dancing. I couldn’t blame the customers. The DJ was obviously not a good one. He had a house filled eighty percent with the youth and twenty percent older people and he was playing songs from nineties. More people would’ve danced to it anyway if the songs had at least been hits during their time.

The waitress brought our order but the drinks were not chilled so I asked for some ice with a smile and she left to get some. The boys came back with two dozen sticks of kebab and a bottle of Absolut Vodka. Fiifi placed a tiny bottle in front of and winked.

“Parting gift from me. It’s just as cute as you”, he said.

I thanked him. A tiny bottle of Hennessey. I doubted it was his idea. However, I do remember telling him I drank Hennessey most often when I was out. I shifted aside as the ice was brought and poured some into my glass before opening the baileys and pouring myself half a glass. I watched with interest as they mixed their drinks with the vodka. Fiifi was a heavier drinker than Kobby but he could hold his liquor better. Which is what I planned on doing to prevent anything I didn’t consciously want happening to happen.

Kobby asked to make a toast and we nodded for him to go ahead. My gosh! We sat through a long toast and Fiifi and I clinked our glasses, each taking a good long sip from our glasses when we couldn’t wait any longer. He looked a little hurt but took a sip from his own glass. From then on, it was just drinks and laughter and few chunks of meat. The alcohol was getting to me a little so I chewed more of the kebab and slowed down on the drink. The music was picking up a bit. Fiifi asked me to dance and I hesitated. He stood up from his seat and danced alone for a while before practically dragging me to the dance floor.

At this rate I knew there was nothing more I could do but dance. The first few moments was a little awkward for me. For one thing, he was the first guy I was dancing with who was a lot older than me. For another, I hadn’t really imagined dancing with him till that evening. After that moment, it wasn’t really bad. He was a good dancer. And one who would take advantage of it, I noticed. He was grinding way too hard for the song that was playing and his hands kept moving up and down my dress. And I would pull my dress down to prevent him from touching my bare thigh when his hands came back down.

I got fed up when he wouldn’t give up this crazy act and sat back down. I took a long pull from glass to calm my nerves and even mixed some of the vodka with a soft drink to calm me better.

“Ready to dance with me?” Kobby quietly asked in a couple of minutes. Was he kidding me? I wasn’t going back there after Fiifi tried to feel me up. What if he was even worse? I looked at him. The guy had a huge crush on me and he acted like he couldn’t live right without me by his side. He could drop the act. There was no Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj thing here between us. Whatever he thought was going on between us had been up in flames before the sun could shine brighter. Perhaps this could be his last night with the moon shining. Besides, he couldn’t do any worse. This was gentle Kobby asking me to dance.

I allowed him to lead me to the dance floor. It was going really well despite the body contact being minimal. We did this for about half an hour. I began to feel like I should have been somewhere else. A place I had been yearning to be for such a long time. I wasn’t even sure if I was wanted there as much as I wanted to be there.

Out of the blue, Kobby pulled me by my waist, hard towards him. He was pushing up on me from behind. I tried wriggling my way out but he held on tighter and started dancing like it was his last night on earth with a girl. He moved one hand up my body and back down in a very sexual manner. The floor had cleared up a little and eyes were beginning to drift our way. I pretty disliked this kind of attention. He knew I also disliked making a scene and so kept on with it. I could feel his left hand drawing close to my behind while his right hand held me firm to him. I was much clever than that. Tonight wasn’t going be his night or any other night for that matter. I swiftly moved my waist in the opposite direction while going down forcing him to go down with me. He was a little big weight wise and I knew he wasn’t that great a dancer so would have difficulty coming back up without breaking the rhythm. Once we were down, I purposely kept that dancing position for a longer time and graciously came back leaving him to work his way back up. I smiled satisfactorily and started to walk back to my seat only to feel a slap on my behind.

I turned to face the culprit with anger only to see Kobby looking at me with a dirty grin on his face. It was probably the alcohol making him act this but I wasn’t going to let it slide. Fiifi sensed trouble and pulled me back quickly before I could slap Kobby to wipe that ugly smirk off his face. I had had enough. I was a little tipsy myself but I knew what I wanted and I wasn’t definitely going to get it where I was now. For the first in a long while, I knew which guy I wanted to be with for the night having dangerous fun. Funny enough, he wasn’t the guy I usually went in for and was the first guy ever to make me work for it a little. Perhaps that was part of the charm drawing me more to him.

I picked up my phone and sent a text to my crush telling him to expect me at his residence in a couple of minutes, half an hour tops. Then I asked Fiifi to drive me home. I was ready to leave. But not before I took a sip of the vodka without mixing it. Then I took one more sip. He settled the bill and asked me not to forget my Hennessey and I could take the remaining Irish cream along if I wanted. I thought what the hell, and picked up both. We walked to the car in silence. Kobby was so quiet the drive back I almost thought he wasn’t in the car. I told Fiifi where I was headed.

“Your boyfriend’s?” he jokingly asked.

I laughed but offered no answer. Throughout the drive, I thought about the guy I was going to see. He had a cute face with the most charming and winning smile I had seen a guy wear on his face. He had the softest hair that felt so good when u passed your fingers through them and a soft palm that fitted almost perfectly with mine that I liked lacing my fingers with his every opportunity I got. His beard was also well shaven at all times. In his company, I could say anything I wanted and I knew he wouldn’t tell another soul. Somehow though, I seemed to find it a bit of a herculean task coming up with opening lines when I wanted to talk to him.

We arrived shortly at my stop. I said a quick goodbye to Kobby and he whispered back. I told Fiifi I would be seeing him again and hopefully he would dance better. He grinned and apologized saying the liquor had gotten a better part of him and he had been too excited. I accepted it. At least he had admitted to inappropriate behavior.

The gates opened and I stepped out of the car knowing this was the right place to be for the rest of the night. My heart was at ease. I was greeted with an embrace which I casually but lovingly stepped into. I wasn’t keeping inventory of the guys I had dated but I hoped to God this was my ride home. He took the drinks from me and we stepped into the house closing the gate behind us.